Pelletier is an excellent coach, love watching him get fired up... He gets the max out of his players and holds them accountable when they fall short. I still think on paper, So Po has the most talented line up in the state. There is absolutely no way, if that group of girls plays up to their potential they don't win a gold ball. I stand firm, it's theirs to lose.

runninandgunnin wrote:Watched the Cheverus vs Oxford Hills game last night streamed on MBR.org. Oxford Hills was firing on all cylinders. Disrupted Cheverus play altogether. Oxford Hills with outside scoring threats, great guard slashing to the rim, commanding rebounding with great effort and all around unselfish play clearly places Oxford Hills as the favorite to win the States this year (my opinion only). I was also impressed with Ms Hartnetts interview as player of the game. She could not provide enough positive remarks for her team and how well they work together. This I believe is a direct reflection of Coach Pelletiers work. I don't see anyone being able to contend with this team. All the pieces are there. One interesting part to the game was in the 3rd quarter when Coach Fifield yanked his starters and they didn't see the floor again for the remainder of the game. Honestly if I were the coach, I would have benched them too from what I could see. Next group in, although young, played with passion and determination. The result wasn't good but one thing I noticed is that the second group played harder than the first group and they were actually more effective. I think Coach Fifield was communicating something here!!

Anyway my prediction is Oxford Hills as the State Champs. There just appears to be too much togetherness. Kuddos to Coach Pelletier and assistants if I am reading this the right way. Rare these days.

Found this quote from the Oxford Hills vs Edward Little game. When I read things like this it is obvious that Oxford Hills will be battle tested come tournament time. There is always more to a record than what the record implies. Redemption for Vikings with EL victorious in first meeting. Vikings came out swinging in the second meeting.

“In the first game, it was the first time a lot of the younger girls experienced varsity basketball and I think they’ve grown so much since then as basketball players,” Laliberte said. “My teammates just got after it, they were awesome. A lot of the guards did a really good job rebounding and going through the offense and just crashing the boards.”

I think Coach Corcoran will be running an up tempo style of play which will ultimately fatigue the opponent, EL knocking off SP places them in contention and was added today to the State top 10 teams. EL can not be underestimated. Cheverus can always be a dangerous team and the flu bug may have contributed to their down game against the Vikings, but the Vikings practiced their killer instinct and were unmerciful as the article stated. The sign of a true contender. It will be interesting to see how the Portland and Vikings teams matchup against each other because it will be these two teams competing for the AA North Championship (Just my opinion).

These 4 games will tell a story for how these teams have prepared themselves for the tournament.

Scarborough vs Portland – Looks like Portland contained Glidden in the first half. Second half Glidden made the shots that count. Portland employed a blitzkrieg trap right out of the gates in the 3rd and cut the half time deficit closing in on Scarborough. Apparently Portland could not maintain that pressure and ran out of gas in the 4th. Both teams missed opportunities. Curious if Portland will switch it up and run full court pressure starting games to pressure teams in the tournament? Legs get heavy in the 4th quarter.

SP vs Gorham – Impressed with the resiliency of the SP team bouncing back from the upset loss to EL. This may indicate that SP had a lapse and is back to business. Sometimes a loss is good to get that added pressure of an undefeated record off their backs. Mackenzie Holmes with 28pts while recording her 1000th point. This girl is unstoppable, teams can only try to manage and limit her points. Again, this win for SP was impressive, some teams can derail from a loss like they experienced against EL.

Portland vs SP – big game to say the least for both teams. State Game preview???? These teams will get a good look at each other again tonight. SP with home court advantage. Portland is an improved team that was just recently knocked off by a surging Scarborough team. Portland’s perimeter game has improved and this is opening up a more balanced offense. Anyone that has seen Portland play this year knows that the full court pressure is coming at some point. How coach Corcoran launches the trap and how SP manages the pressure will be the difference maker in this game. Was hoping to make it to this game, but it doesn’t look good. Just don’t know how to call this one. Gonna be a good one though.

Scarborough vs MGA – This is a really intriguing matchup, who knows what MGA is capable of?, they have been known to surprise (just look at last year). I give Scarborough the edge in this game, however, I give the edge to MGA on guard play so this could make it interesting. This would be a huge game for MGA but they have a tough road game vs Marshwood to overcome first while Scarborough travels to Thornton Academy before they square off for their final game of the season. Note both teams are 13-3.

Another thing I failed to recognize during earlier predictions was the strength of schedules comparing Oxford Hills to SP. While I still believe that OH has a fantastic team and is well coached, I think that SP has seen better competition to finish the latter part of the season and this may be the key for tournament preparation. Of course there are many more variables to mention but I will stop there. In other words I may have jumped the gun with my original prediction of Oxford Hills taking the trophy. More needs to play out. A few games to go and I think it will be obvious to all, but I will say this…I think SP may have taken the edge.

Edward Little vs Brunswick will be a true test to see just how far EL (11-5) has come this season. Brunswick still running with an undefeated season (16-0) could be in for a surprise. Will EL knock off the last standing undefeated team in all of Class AA and Class A? I am sure they would enjoy making this statement going into tourney time. This game result will be watched carefully by many . Brunswick is as solid of a team as it gets and it will give EL a run for their money. Brunswick is capable of challenging most if not all Class AA teams. If EL takes this win and since EL and OH are even 1-1 regular season, it is hard to assume that EL would not have the confidence to take down the top team in Class AA North during the state tourney. EL would have huge momentum going into the tourney with a win against Brunswick.Going to be a fun week of Hoops.

SP played one of the very best games I have ever watched last night. They destroyed The Bulldogs pressure with pinpoint passing, hitting 3's and back-dooring them to death. Lynne has had some talented teams, but their execution against a very athletic & relentless pressure from Portland was a pleasure to watch. They outperformed and outplayed Portland in every facet of the game. The game was over end of first, only the margin left to speculate.

It was a championship effort and set a new bar of performance for Scarborough, Oxford Hills and ? the Dogs to contemplate. What they did last night may be easier to accomplish on the bigger Civic Center floor.

Well it's time to get back on the horse. Been away for a while and actually had to change my username and a 2 this year. The rewards of old age and not being technically savvy, I suppose. Just wanted to add my take. I think this could be setting up to be a really fun tournament on the girls side in AA South. I like SP to win big over Noble, no surprise. Hoop Hopeful said it best, if they're playing together, I just can't see anyone being able to beat them. Scarborough should beat Sanford comfortably, but I suspect it will be closer than past games, at least for a bit. Coach G has done a really nice job with this group and I think it will be a classic Scarborough-SP regional final. MGA-Gorham will be a great game. MGA took some licks this week, but Coach Goodman usually gameplans well and with this game being at home, MGA will be tough, but....I like Gorham in this one, but it's going to be close. MGA will be focused on Holmes, but I'm not sure they'll be able to contain her. She seems to be playing well right now. The final game is BE-TA and everything is pointing to a BE rout. TA has really struggled on the offensive end and BE is a tough team to beat at home. They beat TA by 11 earlier in the year, but I was told it was a very close game the whole way. I do not see a blowout in this one, but BE might have a little more firepower. If there is going to be a big upset, this could be the game. Regardless of how they struggle to score, TA always seems to battle in the playoffs.

AA North - Oxford Hills impressed me the last time I saw them and if they play the way they can, I cannot see anyone defeating them prior to the state game. Very well coached and a nice blend of players with this group. EL is a dangerous team, but something tells me they may have peaked a little too early. They won't be sneaking up on anyone now, but those girls play hard and will be a tough out. I think they advance also. Cheverus-Windham is an intriguing matchup. Coach Fifield has done a nice job with this group, as has Coach Artes with his. I'm going to fly like an eagle in this game. Everything says Cheverus, but I think Windham is playing with a lot of confidence right now. And then the Portland-Bangor rematch...poor Bangor...you're about to have a bad trip down to the big city. I cannot see Bangor being able to withstand the pressure that Portland will throw at them, especially having lost to them earlier in the year.

Good luck to all teams! This has been a great year! I'll be back for more predictions and apologies later!

MEDIAHampden Academy, Skowhegan girls among favorites in Class A; Oxford Hills is ‘AA’ front-runner...But there is plenty of balance in the division as Oxford Hills will be the only team to enter the tournament with fewer than five losses.

The Vikings have won three regional titles over the past 10 years but are looking for their first state championship.

Oxford Hills lost to Gorham 45-31 in last year’s AA final.

Bangor coach Joe Nelson called Oxford Hills a “complete team.

“They play good defense and they’re good offensively. They have a great point guard in (Julia) Colby. She can control things. And they have a number of kids who can score. They shoot the ball extremely well,” said Nelson. “(Jadah) Adams is very strong inside and the (Maighread) Laliberte is a good athlete.

Gorham blitzes Maine Girls’ AcademyThe reigning Class AA champions open with a 15-0 run and advance to the South semifinals with a 63-37 win.Some of the faces might be different, but the Gorham girls’ basketball team took a big step Thursday night toward a third straight Class AA state championship.

The fifth-seeded Rams opened a 15-point lead after one quarter on the road, and behind the dominance of post standout Mackenzie Holmes and freshman Adele Nadeau, they went on to a 63-37 victory against fourth-seeded Maine Girls’ Academy.

Just as I figured the remaining 8 teams have landed where they deserve to be in the brackets. With the quarters out of the way, this is where each game becomes a little unpredictable. Which teams will rise to the challenge? Which coaches manage the best game? Looking at the remaining 8 teams, on paper, SP has the proven track record this season placing them as a top contender, but the matchup with Gorham will be no small task. Mckenzie Holmes plays in beast mode each and every game. Teams need to double or triple her in the paint to keep her scoring below 30 and by doubling / tripling opens up the perimeter game, defending the perimeter and having an aggressive hedge / double (at a minimum) on McKenzie will be necessary. SP only won by 10 during the last meeting this one should be interesting. Gorham just had a convincing win at MGA but I give the edge to SP, but it will be close. Going to be low scoring in my opinion.

40 SP Gorham 37

Bonny Eagle vs Scarborough - Giordano has the Storm girls prepped for success. They are feeding off a 14 game win streak and have introduced other scorers other than just Glidden which has opened up their offense. Scarborough has been playing tough in the 2nd half of games which I think will pose the biggest threat to any team that they play in this tournament. Teams will need to be ready to guard the Storm perimeter 3 balls. Haven't seen Bonny Eagle play in a while but as always during tournament time they step it up and rustle feathers. The storm have improved so much during the season, ball movement is effective so I give the edge to Scarborough on this one.

52 Red Storm, 42 Bonny Eagle

Oxford Hills vs Cheverus - Cheverus seems to be playing their best basketball this season and it is coming at the right time. Cheverus was roughed up big time by Oxford Hills in their last meeting 62-27 but then came back and battled Deering for a 45-37 victory and gave SP everything they had in a close contested match 41-36. If Cheverus can keep their heads clear and just play basketball then they will be able to run with Oxford Hills and seek redemption. Cheverus will need to be physical in the paint and defend the guard play all game long without any let downs if they want to make it to the next round. I give the edge to Oxford Hills since their consistency with coaching and teamwork is just too impressive to overlook.

Oxford Hills 54, Cheverus 46

Edward Little vs Portland - Portland took down EL in the first meeting, however, EL has improved tremendously and can match the athleticism of Portland. Portland will also be playing without their best player which is a huge deficit. Both teams substitute really well incorporating a lot of players so this game will come down to who dominates the boards and which team can penetrate the others trap defense the best and who has the rested legs come the 4th quarter.

Hard for me to say but I think this one goes to EL by a very small margin. EL is finding ways to win. this game will be a fun game to watch.